


black, white, and the colors in between

by kysjpg



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Discussions of Morality, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, Kinda?, Light Angst, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Superheroes, ill add more characters as they appear, mentions of abuse, not very heavy but still, rated teen and up bc of some language and violence, somewhat dubious morality, superhero! yeosang, supervillain! jongho, there might be some bg ships idk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:21:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25686484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kysjpg/pseuds/kysjpg
Summary: Yeosang was a superhero, and a very professional one at that, thank you very much. It wasn’t his fault that his sworn enemy just so happened to be frustratingly attractive. But that didn’t affect him. Right? He couldn’t allow this man— this villain— to distract him from his goal. He wanted to protect people, to stop any other kid from experiencing what he had.And he couldn’t let himself be distracted by a villain of all people. A villain who wore button-up shirts with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows. A villain whose arms were ridiculously toned. Whose complexion looked smoother than a rose petal’s. Seriously, how could someone be doing all that and still maintain such a smooth complexion?It was distracting, to say the least, and his team took notice of that. They took every opportunity to tease him, even going so far as to make him flush bright red on the battlefield, causing him to lose his concentration. It had gotten them into more than their fair share of predicaments, but they had always gotten out of it. Somehow.~aka the jongsang superhero/supervillain au literally no one asked for
Relationships: Choi Jongho/Kang Yeosang
Comments: 17
Kudos: 73





	1. red (velvet and roses)

**Author's Note:**

> hey y'all!! i'm probably gonna be reaaally slow to update this bc i'm starting school p soon (senior year wooo!) and i'm taking like 4 ap's, and also applying to colleges so yeah. i'm v v busy. BUT i will try to update as often as i can. ANYWAYS i hope you enjoy !!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> introduction

Yeosang was a superhero, and a very professional one at that, thank you very much. It wasn’t his fault that his sworn enemy just so happened to be  _ frustratingly  _ attractive. But that didn’t affect him. Right? He couldn’t allow this man— this villain— to distract him from his goal. He wanted to protect people, to stop any other kid from experiencing what he had. 

And he couldn’t let himself be distracted by a  _ villain _ of all people. A villain who wore button-up shirts with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows. A villain whose arms were ridiculously toned. Whose complexion looked smoother than a rose petal’s. Seriously, how could someone be doing all  _ that _ and still maintain such a smooth complexion?

It was distracting to say the least, and his team took notice of that. They took every opportunity to tease him, even going so far as to make him flush bright red on the battlefield, causing him to lose his concentration. It had gotten them into more than their fair share of predicaments, but they had always gotten out of it. Somehow. 

  


~

  


Jongho was a villain, at least according to society. He didn’t think of it that way though— he thought he was fighting against a corrupt system that vilified people like him. People who didn’t grow up right, people who didn’t  _ fit _ . And because he rejected it, that system tried to silence him. Specifically by sending “heroes” after him. He found it kind of sad that they fought so hard for something so trivial; they fought for the  _ idea _ of a world that wasn’t actually there, a world that was all black and white.

He hated everything about heroes.

Which is why it was infuriating that he kept getting distracted by one hero in particular. He didn’t know anything about the man other than the fact that he was a hero; he tended to stay to the back whenever Jongho encountered his team, hiding in a hood as well as his mask. The only thing Jongho ever really saw of this hero— who went by the name of Ace— was a flash of pale skin or a quick spark of  _ something  _ shooting out from his general direction.

And that frustrated him to no end. That this hero could evade him like this, despite the vigorous research he had done into the Sanctum. The only files he could ever find on the hero named “Ace” was that his power was volatile if left unchecked and that any other files had been burned. He couldn’t find any reason as to why. And Jongho  _ hated _ how much he didn’t know about him.

  


~

  


Yeosang recognized that he was powerful, dangerous even. He knew that his powers, if in the wrong hands, could cause much destruction. He understood  _ why _ the Sanctum kept his very existence a secret. 

He wasn’t supposed to exist— this he knew.

Sometimes when people were born, things could go very,  _ very _ wrong. And he knew that he was one of those people. From the moment he had come out of the womb, he had been part of the Sanctum. He had been raised by it, rarely allowed to leave its walls. And while he loved his team, he couldn’t help but be so incredibly jealous of them. Of their ability to hold some sense of normalcy in their lives. 

The Sanctum didn’t watch their every move.

Just once Yeosang wanted to escape from its gaze, to simply exist as a person without feeling like he was walking on eggshells. But he couldn’t. He  _ knew _ he couldn’t. So he continued on as he had his entire life: following orders from the Sanctum and taking out any villains that threatened the city. Living like this wasn’t all bad, though. His team was like his family— they took care of and loved each other. Wooyoung had been his best friend for nearly five years, Hongjoong was like an older brother to him, and Yunho’s bubbly personality never failed to put a smile on his face.

It was still endlessly frustrating that he was only ever allowed to go outside while on a mission or under heavy supervision. And it still made him incredibly sad when his team would talk about the things they would do outside of the Sanctum. His heart ached for the freedom that they had, for their ability to go outside without having to tread so very carefully.

But he understood it. After all, there was still the possibility that he could lose control, that he could become a threat to people’s safety. So he continued as he always had, willing himself to be content with the life he had always known.

So when the alarm on his pager rang, he dragged himself out of bed and put his mask on, pulling his hood over his head and snapping his bracers onto his wrists. He had a briefing to get to, a city to defend, an image to uphold. He didn’t have time to yearn for a normal life; he didn’t have time to yearn to just be Yeosang, the normal person. Because right now he needed to be Ace, the hero who worked from the shadows, the Sanctum’s chess piece. 

Right now, he had a duty to fulfill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE WE GO YAY!!!  
> so ik this chapter is short, but i'm Tired and like,, that seemed like the best cutting off point so yeh. feedback is much appreciated~
> 
> -lucky <3


	2. orange (marmalade and autumn leaves)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> first meeting but twice

Jongho grunted as one of the heroes landed a punch on him, disappearing into a shower of dark purple sparks before he could swing back. Those sparks were familiar. He raked his eyes over the warehouse, scouring for that flash of pale skin he knew would be there.

And there Ace was, darting through the palets.

But he was gone as soon as Jongho laid eyes on him, like a wisp of smoke disappearing into the sky. He never held still long enough for Jongho to use his powers on him. He was a nuisance, forever just out of the villain’s reach. So Jongho turned his attention to the rest of the superhero team— ATZ was their name if he recalled properly. The short one, who went by Zero, had appeared in front of him, and Jongho found himself with a facefull of water. He stumbled back, reaching for the blade at his hip.

He took aim, the faint aura over Zero’s heart glowing red, and threw the dagger at him. The small blade pierced through the air with a deadly accuracy, making its way to its target. Zero flinched.

There was a thud. Then a cracking noise.

Jongho looked at the shattered fragments of the weird, translucent thing that his dagger had made contact with. They were that same dark purple, and Jongho growled in frustration as he realized what that meant. Zero pressed his hand to his ear, saying something that Jongho couldn’t quite make out, and then disappeared once more.

And as quickly as he had disappeared, he was back, a mass of water whipping at Jongho from behind. Jongho hissed, looking at the band on his wrist.

 _Five more minutes_ , he thought. _I just have to hold them off for five more minutes_.

“Whatever you’re planning, Phantom,” Zero warned, voice low and dangerous. “You won’t get away with it,” And Jongho couldn’t help but laugh at that, the sound bubbling from his throat as he turned to face the “hero”. Jongho was taken aback by what he saw: instead of being face-to-face with Zero, he found himself staring at a mask he had only seen in blurs— Ace. 

_Shit_.

He was smaller than Jongho had originally thought, but the tight fit of his black suit betrayed the lean muscles in his arms. Jongho couldn’t quite make out Ace’s eyes from under his mask, but he could feel their intensity as the hero stared him down. Something felt… off about this man, but Jongho couldn’t put his finger on it.

Jongho’s eyes flicked down to Ace’s heart. There was no aura. 

He looked again. Nothing.

_What the hell?_

Ace brought a slow hand up to Jongho’s chest.

He was sent flying into a stack of pallets by some invisible force. Something Jongho could not decipher. He scrambled to his feet, fumbling for the gun at his side. Ace and Zero had disappeared, but he couldn’t afford to take any chances.

He had to secure this deal— it was the best opportunity he had at finding a way to dismantle the system that had hurt both him and many others like him. He couldn’t just let it slip away.

His wristband chimed faintly, alerting him that his contact was here. He breathed in slowly, gripping the gun tighter and straining his ears against the deafening silence of the warehouse. It was too quiet, too still.

The heroes wouldn’t have given up so easily. The Sanctum wouldn’t let them.

Not after all Jongho had done to pose himself as a threat to them.

He had hijacked their supplies, hacked their communication lines, taken down other heroes, and predicted their every move.

He had sent a very clear message: _You are not as powerful as you make yourselves out to be_.

And the Sanctum _hated_ it. They hated that they had no control over him, that he kept slipping from their grasp. That he didn’t tire out and finally submit to them.

After all, he couldn’t submit to them. He had a promise to keep.

“Phantom,” a voice said from behind him. He whipped around, aiming the gun at the source of it. It was his contact. He sighed, lowering his gun but still keeping a tight grip on it, unsure of if and when the heroes were going to reappear.

“Doctor,” Jongho greeted, inclining his head towards the man standing in front of him.

“You seem a bit… busy,” the man commented, chuckling slightly.

“Heroes,”

“I see. Do you want to reschedule?” Jongho shook his head.

“There’s no need for that. I-”

“We were just finishing up,” another voice interrupted. Jongho spun around, just in time to dodge the small, feather-shaped blade that was sent his way.

“Shit,” he mumbled, raising his gun. He didn’t have time for this. He locked his eyes on the source of the blade— a hero by the name of Twilight— took aim, and fired.

~

Yeosang winced as pain blossomed in his shoulder. On instinct, he had jumped in front of Wooyoung in an attempt to protect the other from the bullet. It worked.

The only downside was that he now had a bullet lodged in his shoulder, and it hurt like hell.

“Ace!” he heard Wooyoung exclaim, followed by a pair of hands reaching out, steadying him.

“I’m fine, Twilight,” Yeosang said, gritting his teeth and straightening up. He gripped his shoulder, warm, sticky blood trailing down his fingers as he attempted to stop its flow. “We should focus on…” he trailed off as his eyes landed on where Phantom was.

Or rather, where he had been.

_Fuck._

He looked around frantically, searching for the villain. A door slammed shut somewhere in the warehouse. He turned to face the noise, his eyes meeting Phantom’s. The villain grinned at him as the van sped away. Yeosang growled.

That was bad.

“Yeosang? Wooyoung? How’s it going?” Hongjoong’s voice came in his earpiece.

“Not good,” Wooyoung responded, pressing his hand to his own earpiece. “Yeosang had been shot and Phantom got away,” There was silence.

“Shit,” Hongjoong finally said. Yeosang laughed, wincing at the pain that shot up his arm.

“We’re heading back to the Sanctum to treat Yeosang’s wound,” Wooyoung told Hongjoong, taking hold of Yeosang’s elbow. ‘We’ll meet you there,”

“Copy,”

After getting his injury treated and giving his report to Eden, Yeosang wandered the halls of the Sanctum, formulating a plan. He hated the feeling of always being watched, and he wanted some time on his own. He needed to reflect on the day's events, to figure out what he could’ve done better. So he slipped on some simple jeans and sneakers, throwing on a large hoodie to hide his face and hair, and quietly made his way to one of the more secluded hallways.

He snuck over to a small, familiar hatch, pulling at the handle lightly to see if it was locked. As usual, it wasn’t. He pulled it open and stepped into the opening, closing the hatch gently behind him. He wasn’t entirely sure what this tunnel was used for, but it led outside, and that was all that really mattered to him.

As he reached the end, he groped for the handle, unlatching it and tumbling forwards onto the grass below. He grunted as he hit the ground, the impact jostling his shoulder uncomfortably. He allowed his hood to fall to his shoulders as he stood up, brushing the dirt from his pants and walking into the city.

There was a new coffee shop he had been dying to try, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to do so. So he made his way there, watching contentedly as the city moved around him. Seoul never failed to amaze him, no matter how many times he snuck out of the Sanctum to see it. There were just _so many_ people, each full of their own life and goals, each so separate from the Sanctum. They didn’t care what Yeosang did. They didn’t watch his every move. They ignored him. And that was so incredibly freeing.

Yeosang smiled as the scent of coffee filled his nose. He was close. He tore his eyes from the people around him back to where he was going.

And ran directly into a solid mass. He fell backward, a strong arm snaking its way around his waist to catch him. He looked up, making eye contact with quite possibly the most attractive person he had ever seen. Who had coffee spilled down the front of his white button-down shirt.

 _Shit_.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Yeosang exclaimed, his face heating up as the handsome stranger helped him steady himself.

“It’s alright,” the stranger smiled. Fuck, he was hot _and_ cute? This wasn’t fair. “As long as you’re okay, it’s fine,” Yeosang choked, his face heating up even more. _I probably look like a tomato right now_ , he thought.

“You do,” the stranger replied. “It’s cute,” 

“I said that out loud, didn’t I?” Yeosang groaned. The stranger chuckled. Oh god, his laugh was cute too. Yeosang’s eyes drifted back down to the coffee stain on the stranger’s shirt. Right. “Please let me pay you back for your shirt,” He blurted out. The stranger chuckled again.

“There’s no need,” he said. “Unless… Let me buy you a coffee?”

“What?” Yeosang asked.

“Is that a yes?”

“Um… sure?” Before Yeosang could think too much into _how_ letting this stranger buy him coffee was paying him back, a strong hand wrapped around his own, pulling him into the shop.

And that was how he ended up at one of the tables, seated across from an incredibly attractive stranger, who he happened to spill coffee on.

“Uh,” Yeosang started. The stranger looked up at him, sipping his new cup of coffee. “Not that I’m not grateful for the drink or anything, but… How exactly is this paying you back?” The stranger grinned at him.

“Simple,” he replied. “I don’t really care about the shirt. I thought you were cute, and I wanted to get to know you better,”

“Oh,” Yeosang croaked, his face heating up once again. He quickly averted his eyes from the stranger’s, instead opting to stare into his coffee cup.

“I’m Jongho,” The stranger, _Jongho_ , said. It was a nice name. Fitting.

“Y-Yeosang,” he stammered, raising his eyes again. Jongho was grinning at him.

“It suits you,” Jongho winked. Yeosang felt his blush deepen. 

_Oh no_.

“So…” Jongho continued, shifting forwards in his seat. This could not possibly be good for Yeosang’s heart. “Do you live around here?”

“Yeah,” Yeosang breathed, willing his cheeks to calm down. “I live…” he hesitated, knowing that he shouldn’t tell anyone about the fact that he was a hero. “Just outside of town. What about you?”

“I have an apartment in the city. Do you come to this coffee shop often? I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before,”

“Ah, this is my first time coming here. My work keeps me pretty busy,”

“What do you do, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I, uh…” Yeosang trailed off, trying to think of an appropriate response. “I work in customer service,” Not technically a lie. The “customers” that Yeosang was serving just happened to be the entire population of Seoul. 

“I see. Must be hard work,” Yeosang opened his mouth to respond, but he was interrupted by a loud pinging sound. Jongho frowned, fishing his phone out of his pocket and glaring at it before placing it down on the table. “I’m afraid duty calls,” he sighed, moving to stand up. He seemed to contemplate something before walking over to Yeosang, putting his hand out. “Can I, maybe… put my number in your phone? I’d like to see you again sometime…” Yeosang blinked at him, processing what he had just said. 

He fumbled around, pulling his phone out of his pocket. It was old and the screen was cracked, but it served its purpose. He had somehow managed to smuggle it into the Sanctum several years prior, and he was glad he did. He quickly unlocked it and handed it over to Jongho, watching as the other typed something into it.

“There,” Jongho said, giving the phone back to him. “Text me soon, okay?”

“Y-Yeah,” Jongho grinned, winking at Yeosang once again before turning around and exiting the shop. Yeosang stared after him.

Well, that was not how he was expecting his afternoon to go.

~

Jongho glared at his text messages, angry at how he had been pulled away from his conversation. He had enjoyed talking to Yeosang, and it certainly helped that the other was, to put it simply, incredibly attractive. He sighed, putting his phone back in his pocket as he wove through the streets of Seoul. Only moments later, however, his phone buzzed with a notification and he pulled it out again. It was from an unknown number.

**+82-1-859-3xxx**

hi

is this jongho?

this is yeosang. from the coffee shop

**Me**

Hi Yeosang!

Yes, this is Jongho.

**Save contact as “** **Yeosang** **☆** **”?**

 **Yes** **No**

**Yeosang** **☆**

oh thank god

i was worried i texted the wrong person (-ω-、)

**Me**

Cute.

 **Yeosang** **☆**

FHKDHKSJD

hUH?

**Me**

You’re cute.

What are you doing this weekend?

 **Yeosang** **☆**

nothing, why?

**Me**

I was wondering if we could pick up where we left off today?

 **Yeosang** **☆**

oh

OH

sure, i’d love to!

**Me**

That’s great! I’ll text you the details later?

 **Yeosang** **☆**

sounds good! 

Jongho slipped his phone back into his pocket, staring up at the building that loomed in front of him. He sighed, shaking his head as he pushed open the large glass doors, stepping into a, quite frankly, ridiculously ornate lobby filled with furniture and decorations that each probably cost more than everything he owned combined.

Not that the majority of it was obtained legally anyways.

Jongho counted at least five different pieces of stolen artwork with just one glance, and he was sure there would be more if he looked closer. Rolling his eyes, he stepped up to the reception desk. He didn’t have time to count stolen pieces of art; he had business to attend to.

“I have a meeting with Mr. Park,” He told the lady behind the desk.

“Choi Jongho?” She asked, barely looking up from her computer screen. Jongho nodded. The lady gestured to the elevator. “Top floor. He’s waiting for you,” Jongho thanked her, walking into the elevator and pressing the button. Soft music drifted from the speakers as the elevator carried him up to the top floor, and he hummed along quietly, allowing his eyes to slide shut.

A minute or so later the elevator dinged, the doors opening to reveal a large room with one wall made completely of glass. In front of the window stood a figure dressed in a black suit, his dirty blonde hair slicked back in a very meticulous fashion. The figure turned to him, a bright smile immediately breaking out on his previously stern face as he rushed over to engulf Jongho in a hug.

“Jongho!” he exclaimed.

“Seonghwa hyung,” Jongho mumbled, his voice muffled by the other man’s shoulder

“I haven’t seen you in so long! How are you doing? Are you eating okay? Getting enough sleep? Do I need to-”

“I’m doing alright, hyung,” Jongho cut him off. “I ran into some heroes today, but it was nothing big,” Seonghwa pulled back, giving Jongho a once over as if to check for any injuries before letting out a small noise of satisfaction.

“You have coffee on your shirt,” he commented.

“I am aware of that, yes,”

“I think I have a spare shirt around here somewhere,” Seonghwa began rummaging around in a small closet off to the side of the room, emerging triumphantly a few moments later, a deep crimson shirt in hand. “It’s not the same color, but it’s better than having a coffee stain. Here, give me that shirt and I’ll have it cleaned for you,”

“Thank you, hyung,” Jongho said, taking off his white shirt and handing it over to Seonghwa. The crimson one was much softer, and probably ten times more expensive. But Jongho didn’t dwell on that, opting instead to simply stare out the window as he rolled his sleeves up.

“So, how’s your plan going?” Seonghwa asked, his voice taking on a more serious tone. Jongho sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“It’s… okay. Believe it or not, it’s pretty hard to convince people that a system created to protect them is, in fact, doing more harm than good,”

“Don’t push yourself, okay?”

“Yeah, I know. I just… The Sanctum is hurting people, Seonghwa! They’re stealing kids from their family simply because they _believe_ they have the _potential_ to be a threat in the future! And the way they treat people who don’t live up to what they think a ‘normal’ person should be is appalling. They’re killing people on the streets, but they don’t even have the decency to own up to it! Instead, they do what? Put up a front of ‘protection’ and ‘justice’? Bullshit! I’ll make them face what they’ve done. I don’t care if I’m seen as the bad guy. I will not let them continue with this shit,”

“I know, Jongho. I know. But you need to be careful. Because in order to do any of that, you have to be _alive_ , you hear me?”

“Yeah. I hear you. Sorry, hyung, I didn’t mean to snap on you like that,”

“It’s okay, Jjongie. You’re tired, you’re stressed. It happens. I’ll tell you what. Why don’t I treat you to dinner tonight? You could use a break, even if it’s just for one night,”

“I… Okay. Thanks, Hwa,” Seonghwa smiled at him, patting his shoulder reassuringly before grabbing his coat and herding Jongho back into the elevator. Jongho had a lot of work to do in order to right the wrongs his father had created.

But Seonghwa was right. He needed a break, if only for a moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! It's Lucky (duh.) ANYWAYS I just wanted to drop in here to say that idk how consistent my upload schedule will be bc I'm applying for colleges and also taking 4 APs so uhhh,,,, yeah I'm pretty busy QmQ
> 
> Okay, now that tHAT'S out of the way: As always, I hope you enjoyed it, and comments are always appreciated!


	3. yellow (lemonade and sunflowers)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> old friends and alliances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to include a quick trigger warning before this chapter starts:  
> There will be brief mentions of child abuse in this chapter. It's very vague, but I still advise that you be cautious!

Yeosang let out a small smile at the satisfying _thump_ of his fist connecting with the punching bag. It was a good way to keep his mind off of things, to keep him distracted from his own thoughts. It was familiar, comfortingly simple, and most importantly, it kept his worries at bay. All he had to focus on was the power he put behind his punch and making sure that it hit its target. 

And yet.

He couldn’t keep his mind off of Phantom. Or rather, the fact that he got away. It was the perfect opportunity to learn more about him— his motives, his methods, _anything_. And he just… slipped through their fingers. Letting out a frustrated noise, Yeosang ran a hand through his hair. This was infuriating. It seemed that the gym wasn’t going to help clear his head this time. So he sighed, grabbing his bag and making his way out, not missing the way other heroes looked at him— equal parts apprehensive and disgusted.

Oh well. It wasn’t anything new. He was used to people looking at him like he shouldn’t exist. He knew he shouldn’t. For the most part, he was able to tune them out, but today their gazes seemed even more piercing, even more painful.

Yeosang quickly changed out of his workout gear and started heading back to his quarters, desperate for the relief they provided. As he wove through the empty hallways, he heard voices drifting from one of the rooms. Curious, he snuck closer, careful to conceal himself.

“-threat like this run loose. We have to cut him out of the equation. Permanently,” a man said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

“We can’t just _kill_ people. We-” a calmer voice started, but he was quickly cut off by the man.

“Why not? That hasn’t stopped us before,”

“If you would let me finish, Mr. Ahn,” the second man interjected, his tone icy and even. There was silence. “Thank you. As I was saying, we have to be careful. Phantom is slippery. We don’t know how much influence he holds, but we know he at least holds _some_ . There are people who like what he’s doing, and it’s a substantial enough number to warrant care. If we were to just kill him as quickly as possible, there would be some unrest. Besides, we don’t know exactly how much _he_ knows. It could be very dangerous to kill him right now,”

“And what do you think he knows that could be so dangerous to us?”

Silence.

Then, the second man spoke up again, his voice hushed and careful.

“Last time… he took some of our files on Project Alpha. If he can decipher those… I wouldn’t put it past him to set it up so that if he died, they would be released,”

“I see. So what do you suggest?”

“It’s out of our hands at this point. I think this is a matter for Council President Choi,”

Yeosang heard a rustling of fabric and the sound of chairs moving across the floor, and he decided that he should leave before they saw him. In the back of his mind, he knew that he wasn’t supposed to hear that conversation. He knew that it would be easier to simply push it out of his mind and continue on with his life. To act as if nothing happened.

And yet.

The words that those men said tugged at his conscience as he unlocked the door to his quarters. They rang in his ears as he turned on his shower, allowing the scalding water to hit his back. They echoed in his mind as he sat in his armchair.

“Project Alpha…” Yeosang said into the empty air. He had heard those words before, a long time ago. But he didn’t remember what they meant. There was a small part of him that didn’t want to. He didn’t know why. Frowning, he got up from his bed, pulling his hood up as he stepped back into the halls.

There was only one way to figure any of this out.

He made his way down to the research center, careful to avoid any interaction. The fewer people aware of his presence, the better. As he was reaching his destination, a solid mass rammed into his side, warmth engulfing him almost immediately as someone pulled him into a hug.

“My arm, Yunho,” Yeosang grumbled, his voice muffled by Yunho’s large and— quite frankly— _ridiculously_ fluffy sweater.

“Sorry!” Yunho exclaimed as he pulled back, a large grin on his face. He did not look sorry. “I missed you so much, Yeo-yeo,” he pouted, reaching out to squish Yeosang’s cheeks instead. Yeosang wanted to protest, but he couldn’t resist Yunho’s pout. “You never come down to the research department anymore…” his face fell for a moment, and if Yeosang didn’t know him well enough, he would’ve missed it. Yeosang winced. It _had_ been quite some time since he had seen the older. “So, what brings you here?”

“What if I just wanted to visit a friend?” Yunho raised an eyebrow at him, clearly unimpressed by Yeosang’s weak excuse. “Fine, fine,” Yeosang sighed. “I came to do some research,”

“No shit, Sherlock,” Yunho rolled his eyes, playfully smacking Yeosang’s (uninjured) shoulder. “On what?”

“Uh…” Yeosang doubted that looking into Project Alpha would yield anything but trouble, so he decided not to talk about it, instead opting to ask about the other thing that had been bothering him. “You know how our team got sent after Phantom?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, I wanted to look into the Sanctum’s files on him. You know, in case there’s anything useful for if we encounter him again,” Yunho hummed at that.

“Most of that information is classified, but I’ll give you what I can. Here, follow me,” Yunho led him through stacks of case files, weaving further and further into the depths of the research center. When he finally stopped, they were standing in front of a very small box containing only a few folders. Yunho picked up the box and dropped it in Yeosang’s hands, saying, “This is all I’m authorized to give you, Yeo-yeo, I’m sorry,”

“It’s okay,” Yeosang responded, staring down at the files. “It’s better than nothing,” Yunho smiled at that, giving Yeosang’s cheek a little squeeze and leading him back to the entrance.

“Good luck with your research,” he said, wrapping Yeosang in another hug, careful not to aggravate the younger’s injury.

“Thanks, Yu-yu,” Yeosang gave him a small smile. “I’ll uh… I’ll try to come see you more often,” With that he returned to his quarters, carefully setting the box on his desk and pulling out the files. He was immediately greeted by a picture of the villain. It was grainy and looked like it had been taken mid-fight, but the smile on Phantom’s mask grinned back up at him clear as day, almost taunting him. It was a mask he had seen many times, but it suddenly struck him how little he knew of the villain.

The majority of the file was redacted, and little of what information was left was actually helpful. After scouring through page after page of blacked-out text for what seemed like hours, his eyes finally landed on something that seemed important. It was a name. Or rather, an abbreviation of a name: _S. Park_. 

That name… it had to mean something. If this _S. Park_ person was mentioned in Phantom’s file, they had to at least have some information on the villain, and anything would be better than what Yeosang had now. He decided to look into it further.

Not wanting to get caught poking around in places he shouldn’t be, Yeosang quickly slipped the files into a worn-out black backpack. He rummaged around in his drawers until he found an old, untraceable computer he had nabbed off of Yunho years ago and put that in the backpack too. Finally, he grabbed his phone and slipped it into his back pocket, zipping up the bag and slinging it over his shoulder.

It was the evening, meaning that the majority of the people in the Sanctum had either gone home or were getting dinner, but Yeosang was still cautious as he made his way to his normal escape route, checking to see if the hallway was clear before opening the hatch and slipping inside.

This time he kept his hood on as he stepped into the fresh air, not wanting to risk being recognized by anyone. He needed a quiet place to do his research, preferably one with an internet connection. _A café would work_ , he thought. So he squared his shoulders and turned in the direction of the café where he had met Jongho, praying that the other wouldn’t be there this time. 

It seemed his prayers were answered; there were only a handful of people in the café when he got there. He ordered a small coffee so as not to seem too suspicious, and made his way to a table in the back corner, pulling out his computer and switching it on. After some fiddling, he finally connected to the internet, and was suddenly confronted with the fact that he really had no idea what he was doing.

Mentally slapping himself, Yeosang simply typed the name _S. Park_ into the search bar, grimacing at the sheer number of results that it found. This was why they mainly left the research to Yunho, he supposed.

The majority of the top articles looked to be about someone by the name of “Park Seonghwa,” who was the heir to some big tech corporation. Figuring it might be a good place to start, he clicked on one of the articles and began reading.

> Park Seonghwa (22) officially takes over his father’s multimillion dollar tech company, PRYSM, two years after the villain attack that paralyzed the former CEO. When asked about what it’s like to run a company at such a young age, he simply replied: “It is stressful, but I will do my best to continue where my father left off. It’s important that I keep a level head at all times,”
> 
> But where did his father leave off? According to our sources, there had been an investigation opened on PRYSM shortly before the attack. The company was being investigated on suspicions that they were aiding a villain by the name of Phantom by providing both him and his associates with resources and cover.
> 
> We could not find anything else on this investigation, and Mr. Park refused to comment any further on the situation. From what we can gather, it seems the investigation was closed shortly after the attack, but we cannot find any records from it, so we are left to speculate.

  
The article continued on to talk more about the company, but Yeosang found himself re-reading those first three paragraphs over and over. Whoever this “Park Seonghwa” was, he might know something about Phantom, and anything was better than what little information he had now. He sighed, quickly looking up some basic information on PRYSM before shutting his laptop and leaving the café. He might as well get some recon done before he went back to the Sanctum.

~

As he left the large building that served as the headquarters for PRYSM, Seonghwa could feel the distinct feeling of eyes on him. Again. For the past week or so, he had been plagued by the feeling of eyes boring into his skull as he left work, and he didn’t know if he should be concerned or not. At this point, he was fairly certain that there was a person watching him, but they hadn’t made any move to harm him in any way. They were just… watching him. It was a little unsettling, and Seonghwa hoped that didn’t show in his body language

When he reached a small park not too far from the office building, he finally turned around to face where he guessed the person would be.

“Hello?” He asked into the night air. There was no response. “I know you’re watching me… I just want to talk,” There was a beat of silence, followed by some rustling. Then, a dark figure dropped from one of the trees, their hood falling to their shoulders. Their features were obscured by a dark purple mask that took up about half of their face, save for the tip of their nose and their mouth. They were small, almost entirely swallowed by their large black hoodie.

“Park Seonghwa-ssi,” The figure greeted, his voice surprisingly deep.

“And you are…?”

“You can call me A,” Seonghwa quirked an eyebrow at the strange name, but he let it slide, shrugging.

“So… what do you want from me?” Seonghwa asked, still eyeing the stranger suspiciously. The stranger seemed to pick up on that, seeming to weigh his options for a moment before sitting down on the ground, regarding Seonghwa carefully.

“I just want to talk,”

“About?” The stranger went silent for a moment, the soft chirping of the crickets filling the night air.

“Phantom,” He finally said, his voice slow and cautious. Seonghwa blinked in surprise.

“The villain?” The stranger nodded. Seonghwa hummed. “Why me?” The stranger shrugged.

“I figured you might know more than you’re letting on,”

“And what makes you think that?”

“This,” The stranger tossed a folder at Seonghwa’s feet. Curious, Seonghwa picked it up and flipped it open, immediately confronted with various files cataloging his interactions with Phantom over the past few years. They were meticulous and careful, filled with little notes in neat handwriting on specific observations and other comments. He was, all things considered, quite impressed.

“You did your research,”

“I did,”

“What are you going to do with it?”

“Nothing,”

“Nothing?”

“It’s really not my business how you spend your time,” The stranger shrugged, standing up and brushing the dirt off of his pants.

“So why did you want to talk about Phantom?”

“I needed a way to get in contact with him,”

“What for?”

“He may know some information I need. Possibly,”

“That’s very vague,”

“I’m afraid it’s the most I can give you,”

“You’re very bad at giving people reasons to trust you,”

“I live to disappoint, I suppose,” The stranger said, giving a playful bow. Seonghwa let out a small snort. The kid was funny, he’d give him that. “But… I understand your perspective. From what I can tell, he’s your friend. You want to protect him— I respect that. I’d do the same for my friends. And… I know that it’s not worth much to you, but I give you my word that I don’t want to harm him in any way. It’s just… he may know something about me that I’ve long since forgotten, and I-” He cut off, taking a long, shaky breath. “It’s something that I _need_ to remember,” He continued, his hoarse voice nearly a whisper.

Seonghwa blinked, taken aback.

“... Alright,” he finally said.

“What?

“I’ll- Here, um,” Seonghwa fumbled to get a small notepad and scribbled down an address on it, ripping off the page and quickly handing it to the stranger. “That’s a warehouse my company owns. I’ll tell him to meet you there tomorrow evening at seven,”

“I… Thank you,” he murmured, holding the paper as though were something so incredibly precious and incredible. And those words held so much emotion, so much disbelief. Like he never expected to be given so small, so seemingly insignificant. Seonghwa wondered what exactly he had been through to evoke a response like that, but he quickly shook that feeling off. It was really none of his business.

“I don’t think you’re a bad person, A. I trust you with this. Just don’t fuck it up, yeah?”

“I won’t. Thank you, Park Seonghwa-ssi,” And with that, he smiled, large and bright and genuine. He then gave Seonghwa a small wave, turning to disappear back into the night. Seonghwa sight, running a tired hand through his hair. He supposed he should probably tell Jongho about this.

~

Jongho checked his phone, verifying the time and location that Seonghwa had sent him. He had been skeptical of this “A” person at first— the name was suspicious in and of itself— but Seonghwa had said that he trusted this person, for whatever reason. And over the years, Jongho had learned to trust Seonghwa’s judgment.

But time was ticking away— it was nearly seven and there was no one in sight. Suddenly, Jongho heard soft footsteps behind him, whipping around to come face-to-face with a very familiar sight.

Ace.

 _Well, shit_.

“Phantom,” The hero greeted, inclining his head ever so slightly. He looked smaller than he normally did, the large black hoodie making him seem almost harmless. Jongho knew better than to believe that, one hand immediately flying to the gun at his hip as he narrowed his eyes.

“What do you want?” He growled.

“To talk,” Ace replied, throwing his hands up. “I’m not here to fight, Phantom. I swear. I just- There are things I need answers to,”

“How did you know where to find me?”

“Your friend told me to meet you here,”

“You’re A?” Jongho asked, the realization dawning on him. Ace nodded, slowly lowering his hands again and taking a careful step towards Jongho. The villain barked out a surprised laugh, his grip tightening around his gun. “And why should I trust you?”

“You don’t have to. I’ve tried to capture you on multiple occasions so honestly, I don’t really expect you to. But I would appreciate it if you’d at least hear me out,” Jongho grunted at that, motioning his free hand for Ace to continue.

“Go on,”

“I wanted to ask what you know about Project Alpha,”

Jongho froze. Of all things he had expected the hero to ask about, Project Alpha was the lowest on the list.

“... Project Alpha?” he asked hesitantly. Ace nodded.

“I, uh… overheard a conversation between some of the higher-ups at the Sanctum. One that I probably shouldn’t have. But that’s neither here nor there. They mentioned something about you taking some files on something called ‘Project Alpha,’ and for some reason, that name sounds really familiar to me. Like I’ve heard it before, you know? And I feel like… Well. I don’t, uh... I don’t really remember much from when I was younger. But I feel like, at one point, I knew what Project Alpha was. I think- I think it meant something to me. Something significant. And I feel like, maybe, if I knew more about it, I could learn more about myself,”

“So your first thought was to contact a villain?”

“When you put it like that, it does sound kind of silly, doesn’t it?” Ace said, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. Jongho narrowed his eyes.

“You want _my_ help to learn more about _you_?” he asked. Ace shrugged, almost helplessly, before giving a small nod. “And why should I help?”

“Um… because it would be nice?” 

“Seriously?” Jongho scoffed. Ace’s hands flew up in a defensive gesture.

“To be fair, I didn’t think I’d even get this far!” He exclaimed, and Jongho almost found it endearing. Almost.

“How about, in exchange for my information, you give me information on the Sanctum’s movements?”

“Wouldn’t that be betraying them?”

“And you talking to me right now isn’t?”

“Well, yes, but-”

“Listen, hero, the Sanctum isn’t what they make themselves out to be. I would know. I used to be a part of it,”

“You… what?” Ace seemed surprised at that, but Jongho figured he would be. The higher-ups at the Sanctum would’ve done their best to cover up Phantom’s origins. So he simply sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“Yeah. I was training to be a hero, too. All I wanted was to protect people. To help the people who needed it. But one day I saw something I shouldn’t have, and I realized that if I really wanted to help people, I couldn’t do it there,”

“What did you see?” Ace’s voice was low and careful, as if he was afraid of how Jongho would react. It was then that Jongho realized he had tightened his grip around his gun. He took a slow, deep breath, willing himself to calm down before he continued.

“I saw a, uh… a child. Probably about 11 or 12— he looked to be my age at the time, maybe older, though he was very skinny. Looking at what I know now, they probably starved him. He was in this room with a lot of armed men and some scientists, and as soon as the scientists left the room, the armed men attacked him. They-” he took another deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut. “They nearly killed him, and no one stopped them. I tried to get in there, I tried to help, but one of the scientists caught me and, uh… I was ordered not to tell anyone what I saw, or I would be punished. I knew that I couldn’t keep something like that quiet, though, and I knew that I didn’t want to find out what that punishment was, so I left. Later, I found out that what I saw was testing. For Project Alpha,”

“I’m- If what you’re saying is true-”

“It is,”

“If it’s true, then you’re right. The Sanctum is a terrible institution. Now, let’s say I-”

“Do you want the files?”

“Yes. May I finish?”

“Go on,”

“Thanks. Let’s say I want to help you. What would that look like?”

“Insider information, for the most part. I want to make it so that the Sanctum can’t do anything— to stop them at every turn. So that they’re at a stand-still, basically. Then, I can systematically dismantle them by turning public opinion against them and ripping them apart from the inside out,” Ace nodded, deep in thought.

“Give me those files,” he said finally, a hand outstretched towards Jongho. An invitation. Jongho grasped it firmly in his own. “I’ll trust you for now, Phantom. But remember this: one wrong move and you’re done,”

“You’ve got yourself a deal, Ace,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk i just feel like yunsang would have matching nicknames...
> 
> hey y'all! sorry for how long this took oof. bUT i submitted my first application whoo!!!  
> ANYWAYS i hope you liked this chapter, i had fun writing it!! things are getting interesting :3  
> i also wanted to apologize for not responding to any of the comments on the last chapter i've been so busy ;-;  
> i did see them and i really appreciate all you kind words!  
> i hope you're having a good day~~
> 
> \- lucky <3


	4. the new year- not a chapter

hello everyone! it's been a while.

as the new year rolls in, there are a few things i feel i should say. first and foremost, i feel like i should not that yes, i'm alive, and yes, i intend on continuing this fic. senior year is much more intense than i expected, and i haven't had as much time to work on it as i anticipated. the next chapter is nearly done, and i have an outline for the rest of the story. i should have more time to work on it soon, and even more after i graduate. i would like to apologize for the abrupt and, admittedly, quite long hiatus. i hope all of you are doing well, and thank you for your patience <3

\- lucky :)


	5. update (not a chapter, please read- hiatus notice)

so. i know that at the beginning of the year i was optimistic with the update schedule. since then, a lot of shit has happened in my life and i'm still kinda processing all of it. as of today, i'll be putting this fic on hiatus to focus on me a bit more. i might orphan it eventually, who knows. i'm really sorry to those of you that wanted to see where i was going with this, perhaps i'll continue it some day. thank you all for the support of this work, it really does mean a lot.

till next time,

lucky

**Author's Note:**

> loosely based off of this tweet yEET:  
> https://twitter.com/correctjongsang/status/1286430263719862272?s=20 
> 
> ANYWAYS i hope you enjoy it!


End file.
